Welcome to RPGamer's third Best and Worst of the Year Awards. Staff and reader awards have been combined as of last year and first, second, and third places have been selected for each individual category. For the RPG of the Year award, five places were awarded to help complement the large amount of releases we've seen.

What's more and more interesting in the RPG market is how that list of titles represents each of the different platforms RPGamers use. 2002 saw the maturation of the PlayStation 2 titles, while the GameCube and Xbox took their first steps into the market. PC users have not been left out by any means. In fact, the MMORPG market grew so much over the last year that the staff felt it necessary to create a separate category for those games. And let's not forget the portable realm as well - the Game Boy Advance has been one of the most solid platforms recently for new RPG releases, seeing both old ports and new creations come to life on the console.

Finally, it should be noted that 2002 did not just introduce the genre to a larger audience. It also brought the return of some more difficult titles that old-school gamers have come to appreciate. Once again, RPGamer would like to thank all the companies that made these titles over the past year. You helped us escape for a little while and provided several hours (or days) of enjoyment to our lives. Thank you, and good luck in 2003!